The Book of Counted Sorrows
by Lady of Infinity
Summary: On a stormy night a mysterous woman shows up, bringing with her a series of events that turns everyones lives upside down! Warning: shonen-ai. If you don't like don't read. It's that simple! R
1. Whispers in the Dark

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Knights. If did, Alfeegi would not have died and would be my lover, and Kai-stern would also be alive and Cesia and Tinlet would be dead. Some of the things mentioned in this fic might seem familiar and they should be!

A/N: This is my fist DK fic and it is part of a series that I can hopefully get written. I don't want to spoil it but the plot is little complex (well for me it is), but it doesn't get that complex yet, so hopefully you can figure it out but you can always email me if you have questions.

The Book of Counted Sorrows

Chapter 1 - Whispers in the Dark

The raging storm outside made it uneasy for most of the occupants in the Dragon Castle. It was of the most bizarre velocity. Thunder and lightning were a constant, loud and ever so near. The rain kept pouring in torrents and the wind was howling unnaturally, sounding throughout the Palace, like a dying wolf crying to the moon.

"Man, something is up with this storm. I swear, I don't think I would ever be able to sleep through this," Thatz said, looking out one of the windows in Lykouleon's throne room. Another crash of thunder sounded through out the spacious room, echoing off the walls and deep corners.

"Wow! Coming from your mouth… something must be up!" Rath said, laughing.

Kai-stern, Ruwalk, and Lykouleon laughed as well. No one took notice of the melancholy look on Rune's face except for Alfeegi. He walked over to the elf, who was standing near a window, looking at the pouring rain as it pattered against the glass, obscuring the blurry outside view. The courtyard looked a mess as the lightning flashed against the sky.

"Hey, Rune, are you okay?" Alfeegi asked, putting a hand on Rune's shoulder. Rune continued to look out the window, not bothering to acknowledge Alfeegi.

"There is a strange energy coming from the storm. Demonic, yet at the same time, Elven. I sense the power of another Dragon." Rune said, finally answering him. His voice sounded perplexed and at the same time held a foreboding sense of danger.

"What do you mean?" Ruwalk asked, taking a step forward from his spot. He had over heard their conversation and was curious as to what got the elf all ominous all of the sudden. His question was soon to be answered.

The doors of the throne room burst open, which was followed by a particularly loud crash of thunder and a bright flash of lightning happening at the same time. To them, this was some kind of omen from the Gods above. In the door way stood a dark, shadowy figure. The occupants of the room were on guard with their hands at the hilt of their swords except for Lykouleon.

The figure began to walk forward, straight to Lord Lykouleon, not paying attention to the others.

As the person walked by them, they realized it was a woman, who was pretty tall, but slightly shorter than them. Her long brown hair looked mangy and wet. Her violent eyes were a piercing violet that filled their hearts with fear. She was soaking wet and her white dress clung to her body, slightly showing off her contours. It was also quite muddy at the bottom. Her green corset was cut in some places and looked a little blood stained.

But what was shocking the most were all the weapons she carried. At her hips were two swords: a kantana and a sakabatou. On her back was another sword that looked more ornamental, and a long bow. As she walked by they saw two daggers upon the back of her shoulder and four arrows decoratively place in her hair.

Around her neck was a silver chain and attached where three pendants: a Celtic cross, a decent sized emerald, and a small veil filled with a crimson liquid, presumably, blood.

Although Alfeegi felt like he should be pissed off, he couldn't be mad at her, she was just too beautiful. Even though she was wet and muddy, he couldn't help but be captivated. However, he kept that hidden, and he showed his anger. The others seemed to be mystified, but a little displeased at how she had made her entrance.

Once she approached Lykouleon, she bowed. At least she is courteous, thought Alfeegi.

"Lord Lykouleon, I bring tidings from Arinas," she said, as she stood up. Her voice filled the room with deadliness, and held a deep sense foreboding.

The others pulled out their swords, and went into a fighting stance. Lykouleon looked shocked, but nothing more. He looked at the others with a look that said, 'Is that how you greet a guest?' and then he motioned them to put their weapons away. They did, although a little reluctantly.

"I see. May I ask of your name?" he asked smiling.

"Lily," she stated. "Lily Spardas."

"Ah, Lady Lily, how may I help you?"

"That is between you and me. May we talk…" she stopped and looked at the others and then turned back to Lykouleon. "Alone?" she heavily stressed that word.

"As you wish. You all are dismissed." Lykouleon said, waving his hand slightly, motioning to the door through which Lily had just previously came through.

As they looked as if they were about to protest, Ruwalk, Rune, and Tetheus, ushered them all out. (Or more like shoved them out!)

"I would like to talk to you about…" was the last thing they heard before the heavy door closed on their faces, blocking out any of the conversation that was taking place within the throne room.

* * *

"Who the hell does she think she is, waltzing in there like she owned the damn place?" Rath yelled at the door, wanting to beat the shit out of it. His face was flush with anger. He was the only one in the palace who was allowed walk around like that.

"Calm down before you kill somebody," Rune said putting both hands on Rath's shoulders and bringing him slowly away from the door. "Calm down." His powers of relaxation seemed to work wonders.

"I want to know how in the hell she got in. Only authorized people may enter that room and I know she sure as hell didn't do any paper work to enter the grounds," Alfeegi yelled at the door, the same way Rath did, except he wanted to barge in there and demand how in the hell she got in there. But that would be rude, and Alfeegi was never rude.

The others sweat dropped. Leave it to Alfeegi to think about paper work. Was that all he ever thought about? He needed something to keep him away from that damned stuff. Ruwalk walked warily over to him. He didn't want to get hit by Alfeegi's mallet or anything else Alfeegi could get his hands on.

As he was about to say something, Thatz beat him to it. "She's Lily. She can do those sorts of things," he said nonchalantly, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and his eyes closed.

"And what makes her so damn spec-… wait a sec, you know her!" Rath asked. The others looked at him with blatant curiosity.

"Um…" before he could answer that question, the doors opened, and Lord Lykouleon walked out of the room. They immediately noticed that the mysterious Lily was nowhere to be seen.

Lykouleon noticed this and chuckled a little. "Our guest has been taken to her room. You may ask her your questions tomorrow afternoon. I also suggest you all go and get some rest, I have a feeling tomorrow will be a very long day. We will finish our meeting some other time," he said before anyone could ask him anything. "Good night." With that, he left for his chambers.

They all said good night and left in different directions to their bedchambers. That is except for two people.

A pair of hands came out of a dark corner and grabbed for Rune, and pulled him into that dark corner. "What the…" he managed to say before a hand covered his mouth.

"Shush… do you want the whole castle to hear?" a voice whispered into his ear, its warm breath tickling one of the most sensitive parts of his body. It shivers down his spine. His captor took note of that and filed it away for future reference.

Rune glared, as the hand was removed. "Rath…! Explain the meaning of this!" he whispered dangerously.

"Thatz," was all he said before he grabbed Rune's wrist and led him to Thatz's room.

However, upon reaching said persons room, no one was there. No one answered the door when they knocked, nor when they found the door open and they walked in only to find the bed empty. Very uncharacteristic of any room that belonged to Thatz..

"Is this what you dragged me all the way to see? And empty bed?" Rune asked sarcastically. Then as an afterthought, "Why in the hell are you looking for Thatz anyway?"

"Look, I know you are just as curious as I am about this Lily and how Thatz knows her. Plus I know I wasn't the only one who felt that strange aura coming from her," Rath said, a little too seriously for anyone's taste.

That seemed to calm down Rune considerably, to a state of faint shock. "How did…" was all he managed to say, his eyes wide as he looked at Rath.

Rath shrugged his shoulders. "Call it a connection the two of us has between each other. We can sense those sorts of things. It's kinda like a bond we have, I guess you can say. Well sorry 'bout the whole thing," he said smiling. He walked over to Rune, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "G'night, Rune," he said giving a little wink and then left the room for his own.

After he was gone, Rune came out his state of semi-shock, his eyes going soft and starry-eyed. He lifted his hand to his face, his fingers lightly touching where Rath's lips had previously made contact. A faint blush painted his cheeks as he smiled and whispered good night to Rath, a little breathlessly. He then left Thatz's room to his own, with a fluttery feeling coursing through his veins.

* * *

As everyone settled in for bed, the storm all but vanished into the abyss of night. The rain stopped pouring, and the wind less fierce and was nothing but a gentle breeze. The thunder and lightning all but vanished. The moon and the stars peeked through the clouds, casting an eerie glow upon the palace.

A pair of violet eyes, much like Lily's, stared at the palace sadly. "Here, she will be much better. I'm sorry Lily, but I believe you belong here more than you do with me. Please, forgive me," he then bowed his head, then turned and disappeared, as if it were nothing more than part of the breeze.

* * *

A/N: I hope you liked the first chapter. I couldn't resist a little Rune/Rath. They are just too cute! In the next chapter, everyone gets to meet the mysterious Lily and learn about the connection between her and Thatz. 


	2. In the Morning Light

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Knights. If I did, I wouldn't be writing this fic.

A/N: Okay, here is the second chapter of my latest fic, and probably the only one to get another chappie. I spent my whole vacation writing this so I hope it's good. I would also like to thank my reviewers and my beta reader!

The Book of Counted Sorrows

Chapter 2- In the Morning Light

Soon, the morning came; it's warm rays bringing life to a new day. The light in the windows were catching dust as it floated around. The breeze brought in the gentle smell of morning, with the faint smell of the flowers. A few birds began to sing cheery tunes, bringing a sense of peace over the gentle dawn.

Currently, many of the occupants of the palace were still asleep in their beds, comfortable and content. However, one person was up at this hour, feeling neither, and was restless with a strange sense apprehension coursing through them. This person was the mysterious Lily, who had been roused from sleep.

She was wandering the halls, a little lost in the vast palace. Before long, she came across the library. She looked through the books, running her fingers along their spines, looking for nothing in particular, just anything that caught her fancy. She soon came upon a particularly thick book. She couldn't see the title, but it looked like it would put her to sleep. So she grabbed it off the shelf using both hands and walked over to a chair near a still burning fireplace.

She curled up in the chair and placed the book in her lap. She used her fingers to gingerly brush off some of the dust on the cover of the book. She looked at the title and smiled. 'The Demon Bible' was written faded gold letters on the leather cover of the book. She laughed, what would the Dragon Lord be doing with a book like this in the palace. "Tsk, tsk. He would be happy to know about this." Her smile faded as she soon remembered the circumstances that had brought her to the Dragon Palace in the first place.

She opened the book and began to read. As she was about one-third of the way done, her eyes began to droop. She yawned a few times to remain awake, but soon surrendered to sleep, her head resting against the back of the chair. A few of the suns rays fell on her face, making her look like an innocent child.

Lykouleon, decided at that exact moment to walk in. "Just where I though you would be," he whispered as he walked over to her sleeping form. He brushed a few bangs away from her face, smiling at how peaceful she looked compaired to before. He felt this connection with her that could not be explained. His smile then changed to confusion when he saw a book in her lap, written in the youkai language.

He removed the book with curiosity and closed it so he could see the title. "Eh… I didn't know I had that book," he sweat dropped. He placed it on the table next to the chair. He looked at her, and then around them. "I don't want to wake you… what to do." He thought for moment and then grabbed a blanket from the other chair and gently covered her up so that he would not wake her.

He placed a kiss upon her forehead. "I'll leave you here and come back for you later." He then turned and walked back to the door. Before he closed it, he turned back and smiled at her and then left, softly closing the door. He walked through the halls silently, wondering if anyone else was up, besides Alfeegi.

* * *

Before long, the sun was shining directly above Draqueen and signaling that it was noon… or rather lunchtime. For once, everyone was gathered in the dining hall, probably hoping to see the mysterious Lily. However, their food wasn't set up like it normally was… something was going on. 

The Knights and Officers, turned when they the door open. They saw Lord Lykouleon standing in the doorway, smiling as always. Nothing seemed to get him down.

"Where's the food?" Thatz asked before Rune hit him in his side, with his elbow. "Ow…" he muttered, rubbing his injured side and slightly glaring at Rune who was also glaring back at him.

"I hope you don't mind if we eat outside. Rasaelene has made a wonderful lunch so that we may have a picnic with our guest."

"Lily's awake? Does that mean we can ask our questions now?" Rath asked, very excited. The other sweat dropped. At least he was showing some kind of emotion. After Cesia died (and there was much rejoicing :waves a white flag: Yay!) he had become distracted and distant. He didn't care much about what was going on around him. At least now he wasn't thinking about those damn demons. Well most of the time anyway!

Lykouleon smiled, and nodded his head and then lead them to the garden. As they neared they heard the sound of the fountain and the laughter of two females. It quickly caught their attention…

"By the way you describe those two, they sound like an old married couple." They heard a pleasant, cheerful voice say with a hint of laughter and secrecy. It didn't sound much like Rasaelene, but they didn't think Lily sounded like that considering how she spoke last night.

"Hello ladies," he said smiling at them. "I hope you don't mind if I ask, however, I over heard you talking about two people and I was curious as to whom you were talking about?"

The two ladies stood to greet them, before Lily spoke up. "Lady Rasaelene was telling me about the people of the castle and she was describing to me about the relationship between Ruwalk and Alfeegi."

The others laughed, as Alfeegi blushed lightly, angered by the comment as innocent as it seemed. Ruwalk just smiled and laughed with a hand behind his head. "Yup, that sounds about right," he said hitting Alfeegi on the back in a brotherly manor. Alfeegi gave squeak of surprise before glaring and crossing his arms and gave a little sniff of indignity. They all but missed the jealous look in Kai-sten's eyes as he laughed along with them.

After they calmed down, they began to sit down on the ground. However, before Thatz could sit down he was glomped by Lily, almost knocking him over. He was briefly shocked before he wrapped his arms around her waist and hugging her back with a goofy grin on his face. They each gave each other a peck on the lips, something they had been doing since they've know each other, the others figured this much. Alfeegi couldn't help but fell a twinge of jealousy as they did so.

"Long time no see, ya big glutton," she said laughing. She stopped hugging him but threw an arm around his neck as they sat down. Her eyes radiated warmth, happiness, and laughter, but hidden deep within those depths was the wisdom of the gods and one who has seen too much.

"So how do you two know each other?" Rune asked curiously.

Lily just looked at Thatz, telling him to tell the story. He nodded his head.

"Well, I was treasure hunting somewhere… I can't exactly remember where. Well I got lost and I found myself somewhere else. I think I was on Arinas somewhere…" he looked at Lily.

"Some trap Kharl built seeing it was near his castle. I was around, returning home from a visit to a friend, when I found him. So I helped him out, and we both ended up in Dusis," she continued for him.

"After that we've been friends… but we spilt when she had to return Arinas and I became a knight," he finished. Lily nodded her head.

"Interesting… so you live in Arinas." Tetheus asked.

"Sometimes… but most on the time I've been traveling in Dusis… looking for some things," she answered, but her voice left no room for questions about what those things were. From there the conversation turned to chitchat, and everyone finished their lunch and cleared it up, so it would not get in their way.

Rath had been looking at her long and hard all through lunch and came to one conclusion. "You're youkai," he stated, and then moved so he was directly in front of her, staring into her eyes. She stared back, no emotion flowing through her violet orbs.

"Rath, stop being rude," Rune said, harshly. That caught Rath's attention and he moved back to his place between Rune and Kai-stern. She blinked a couple of times before her eyes returned to their normal cheerfulness and mystery.

"She's not just youkai, she's also an elf," Rune muttered, silently, but the others had heard him, and he blushed slightly and mumbled an apology. Lily just smiled, making him blush even more.

"Right you are," Thatz said, pulling Lily into his lap and holding her close. If the others hadn't have known they were good friends, they would have thought they were a couple. Lily gave a yelp of surprise, but continued to smile as she settled into his lap. She was not going to answer their questions on her blood, they could just ask Thatz. "She's also a dragon," he said as he bit one of her ears that showed the pointed tip of a dragon.

"Ow. You asshole. Don't do that," she said getting out his lap and slapping him, which made him fall down to the ground, from his sitting position. She then moved to sit next to Lykouleon. They were laughing at Thatz who seemed to have recovered some.

"What was that for?" he mumbled, rubbing the side of his face where a red handprint was showing. Lily just huffed and crossed her arms.

"Now, Lily, let me introduce you to my Dragon Officers and Knights," he said once he got over his fit of laughter. "This is Tetheus," he said, pointing to a dark-haired, dark-eyed man sitting next to Rasaelene. He had a stern look on his face. Tetheus nodded his head at her. She smiled and nodded back.

"Ruwalk," he said pointing to the person next to Tetheus. He had brownish-orange eyes and his hair was brown with red tips. He held out his hand, which she took and he then kissed it, while giving her a wink. She just smiled and winked back.

"Alfeegi," he said pointing to the man with aqua hair, next to Ruwalk. She shook his hand and said pleasantries, but her eyes lingered on his. His copper eyes captivated her, but what she saw behind them intrigued her the most.

The next person he pointed to was a light blond haired man with yellowish gold eyes hidden behind his thin-framed glasses. "Kai-stern," Lykouleon said as she shook his hand. She too looked into his eyes and into his soul, like she did to the others before him and to the ones after.

She knew she was going to have problems with Kai-stern and Alfeegi.

"Rath," he said motioning to the man next to Kai-stern. He had black hair with a little patch of his bangs dyed white. She looked into his crimson colored eyes and knew that he was going to be Hell to live with. She had heard about him through Thatz. When their hands met, she felt the fire of his soul, and she knew that the two of them would never get along, much less understand one another.

"And Rune," he said pointed to the blond haired, blue eyed elf sitting next to Rath. When she shook hands with him, she liked him instantly. And so she smiled and it made Rune feel happy, because he understood that smile for it was used amongst all elves.

"And you have already met Rasaelene," he finished and then sipped his tea, and let everyone take it from there. He smiled his all knowing smile and then began to eat his dessert that Rasaelene had given to him.

"It's nice to meet you all," she said, smiling. She too began to eat, as did the others. She kept quite, listening to the conversations around her, looking at their smiling faces and cheery laughter of many inside jokes, which she had no part of. She came to realize that they sounded like one big family and she felt like an intruder upon their happiness. Once she got what she wanted, she would be out of their lives forever, and she would go back to her Master, and live the remainder of her life in blissful peace. If only she knew.

"So, Lily, where are you from?" Ruwalk asked, trying to avoid any questions about her peculiar bloodline.

"A town called Makototen. Its location is non of your concern," Lily stated with a tone that none dared question, not even Rath.

"I've been there before," Kai-stern said. "Right before Nadil destroyed it," he said looking straight at Lily. "I've seen your eyes before… though you were much younger then."

"Yes, I thought you, too, looked familiar," she said looking away from him and somewhere else than their curious gazes. Damn him, she thought.

The others wore looks of confusion. Did these two know each other? However unlikely… it seemed very strange. Many of the others had never heard of it, except in legend… about the dragon it hid and protected. They never thought it could be a real place.

Her gaze looked to the far distance, eyes glazed. "You and I never spoke though. I always saw you by the tavern, except that one night…" and then she stopped. The far-away look in her eyes left and she shock her head. "How silly of me to get caught up in the past I would rather forget about. Besides it never could have happened… You weren't there…"

The group did not know what she was talking about… maybe Kai-stern, but it seemed he, too, was also confused. But realization dawned on Alfeegi when he finally figured out why Kai-stern had spent all his money on that particular journey that Alfeegi didn't know that Kai-stern had gone on… without filling out the paper work.

"So that's why you weren't here during the festival all those years ago? And without filling out the forms and how all that money disappeared, unless Ruwalk had a hand in it, which I wouldn't be surprised," he said raising an eyebrow. His voice was deadly calm. It worried all those there, except Lily, who was left in the dark. She would soon learn the ways of the palace.

"Um…" was all Kai-stern could say. He raised his hands up in defense and sweat dropped as Alfeegi looked at him with anger flaring in his copper eyes.

Lily smiled. She may not have been in Draqueen long enough, but she could see what was going on around here. Her smile lessened when she remembered that she was disturbing their peace, and every moment she waited, the Darkness that followed her would soon come upon them. She couldn't have that.

She cleared her throat and stood up, dusting her self. Alfeegi stopped killing Kai-stern for a moment to look up at her, like everyone else. The afternoon light highlighting her hair, giving her a soft, heavenly glow. It gave her a much more lovelier appearance than last night. Kai-stern saw the entranced look in Alfeegi's eyes and immediately disliked Lily. She was going to take Alfeegi from him, and just when he was getting attention.

"Well, I'll be on my way to town," she said looking at them and smiling. As she turned to leave, Rune got up.

"I'll go with you," he said walking over to her.

"I'd like that. Thank you." Rune held out his arm and she gracefully took it. Now it was Rath's turn to be mad… Rune was his… he glared at Lily also. He was going to make sure she didn't have him.

Then abruptly, Lily turned around and looked at them, she could sense their emotions… what strange people. "Thatz forgot to tell you something else."

They all looked at Thatz, who seemed to realize what he had forgotten. He was about to say it when Lily beat him to it.

"I also have human blood flowing through my veins." With that she and Rune left. When they turned to look at her, she was no longer there.

"Wow… all four races…" Ruwalk mumbled. The rest of the group nodded their heads.

"No doubt, she'll be wonderful to have around. It's nice to see a girl around here instead of all these gentlemen," Rasaelene said drinking the rest of her tea. "Well, if you will excuse me," she said getting up. "I bid you a good afternoon." With that she left for the palace.

Once they could not see the Lady, Lykouleon cleared his throat. "There is something I need to discuss with you about Lily. I'm sure she will tell Rune herself."

The remanding people looked at Lykouleon expectantly. Their dessert forgotten, even by Thatz.

"Well, it's about damn time someone explained something," Rath said impatiently. Alfeegi glared, but did not say anything.

Lykouleon let out a sigh, considering what he was about to say. "No doubt, you have heard the rumors and legends that surround Makototen?" he asked.

The others nodded their heads. They were curious to find out what he was getting at. When they saw the serious look in his eyes, did they truly see the severity of the situation that surrounded Lily.

"The legends, the rumors… They are all true." Shock filled all of their faces, but nothing was as more shocking than what they were about to hear. "Lily is…"

* * *

A/N: A cliffhanger… I know I'm evil. I'm not going to say anything about the next chapter, or it will give it away and I can't have that now can I? 


	3. The Bloodline of Secrets

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Knights. Never have, never will!

A/N: Okay, I'm back with a whole new chapter, hopefully ya like it, I wrote most of it while my mama was in the hospital (she's okay)! R&R and tell me what ya think! Oh yeah, I made a few minor changes to the other chapters, nothing to serious though!

The Book of Counted Sorrows

Chapter 3 – The Bloodline of Secrets

Lily and Rune were walking down the street, arm and arm, looking at the shops and vendors. Lily would stop occasionally to look at the jewelry or flowers, maybe look at some pretty fabric, or some weapons, but she never bought anything. Rune smiled at her happiness, she greatly reminded him of Tinlet. As he continued to watch her, he began to wonder what kind of person she truly was.

"Uh, Lady Lily, I hope you don't mind if I ask, but could you explain some things about you?" Rune asked, blushing. He hoped she would give him an answer.

She looked at him and giggled. "You're very curious for an elf," she said giggling a little more. Rune blushed a deeper red; everyone seemed to be making a comment about that lately. She smiled to ease his discomfort. "I don't mind," she said leading him over to a café table and ordered both of them some hot chocolate.

"What is it you would like to know about me?" she asked looking deep into his blue eyes. Rune caught under her heavy gaze, looked down at his coco, and blushed. He felt like she was looking deep into his mind, searching, and understanding. Pulling at his inner thoughts, as if she was reading his mind. It made him uncomfortable when someone looked at him like that, as if they knew every inch of his being. He coughed and took a sip of his drink before asking his first question.

"I'm going to frank and honest. How come you have your particular bloodline?" he asked bluntly, with a hint of curiosity. He fought off the blush that wanted to adorn his cheeks like cherries.

She laughed softly. "Well, Rune, that is quite the question." For a moment he didn't think she would answer it, but she continued. "Your answer is long and complicated, but that shouldn't matter," he nodded his head in agreement and waited for her to continue. She took a long drink of her coco, before she continued. "Where do you want me to begin?" she looked at him. "At the beginning I suppose," she said laughing. Rune let out a small chuckle.

"I guess it all begins with my great-grand parents or I suppose maybe a little farther back, I'm not sure. My great-grand father was Satoshi Spardas, he was human, and he met my great-grand mother, Anastriana Galanodel and she was an elf. They married and had my grand father, Michael Spardas, who was of both races. My other great-grand father was a youkai, his name was Lucius Draconus. He met my other great- grand mother, Geneva Levesque, who was human. They married and had my grand mother Cassandra Draconus. She and my grand father met and fell in love and had my mother, Mikanaei, therefore she was human, elf and youkai.

"My mother met a dragon passing through the village and took a fancy to him. I think his name was Dante. And then I came along. My mother died giving birth to me. There is more but I doubt you would want to listen," she said taking a sip of her now lukewarm coco.

Rune looked at her intently, paying close attention to her story. For the most part it was interesting and a bit sad, but he still wanted to know more. "Please continue…"

She looked at him and nodded her head. "Alright. Well I'm sure you would like to know what happened to them?" Rune nodded his head.

"Satoshi and Geneva both soon died of old age. Anastriana began to die slowly after losing Satoshi. Lucius poured himself into his work and study. It was quite by chance that they met. They fell in love and she bore him a child. But he died sometime after in a battle against the dragons. That finally snapped her heart in two after losing both of her loves."

Rune raised an eyebrow. How interesting. She was right it was getting complicated. Lily laughed at his expression.

"I know, but when I heard this story I was totally shocked. But anyway, when Anastriana and Lucius got together, she was soon with child and her heart was restored. She then gave birth to my grand uncle. They called him a cursed child because he was youkai and elf. Soon after her was born Anastriana and Lucius planned to marry, but Lucius was killed in battle as you know, and Anastriana died soon after. My grand uncle was raised by my grandparents," she said explaining in more detail about the lives of her ancestors.

"My grandmother died when I was three, but I remember her so clearly. My grandfather raised be after that and then," the look on her face told Rune that this story was about to turn grim. Tears pooled in her eyes, but she never let then fall. "When I was thirteen, Makototen was attacked my Nadil and his crazy youkai army. I think part of it was because Lucius had once refused to join his army even thought he was a Youkai Lord, himself and I believe that this was a form of revenge against him. I do not know the whole truth. All I remember of that horrible day was Nadil asking for something and my grandfather had refused to tell him. I tried to save my grandfather, but I was too late. Nadil then said he would come back for me someday and then I blacked out.

"The rest of my life, I've cursed Nadil and was raised by a family friend in Old Arinas. Three years ago I returned to Dusis to find Makototen, but I fear it has been lost completely." A stay tear ran down her check. She hastily brushed it aside. She finished what was left of her lukewarm coco and looked at Rune waiting.

Rune was still confused on one thing. He didn't mind that she gave no names other than that of her forefathers and foremothers. It was Makototen that he was curious about. "I have one question. Your village, Makototen, what was it like? I mean did all of your family live and meet each other there?"

A wistful look entered her eyes as she thought back to her home. "It was a wonderful and beautiful place where we all the races worked together in harmony. Until Nadil attacked we never knew of the troubles that lay outside our little world. I miss it dearly," she replied, continuing to stare off into space thinking longingly of her naive childhood and her training that made her the way she was today.

"Sounds like a nice place. Reminds me of my own home." He gave her a small reassuring smile. She smiled back.

She took a deep breath, and the smile left her lips. "Rune, there is something else about me that you should know."

The smile left his face as her saw her serious expression. "What?"

"Rune, I'm the…"

* * *

"SHE'S WHAT?" Rath yelled. The others covered their ears, expecting this kind of reaction. "So what you're saying we have the key to the world, the center of magic, the weapon of mass destruction, the Holy One, the harbinger of doom… right here, walking among us." 

Lykouleon only nodded his head.

"There is no way… it can't be… You're not serious are you…?" Rath asked trying to rationalize this information. But the look on Lykouleon's face told him that he was dead serious.

"Holy shit," he said, and when Alfeegi didn't yell at him, he said it again. We have the center of magic, the dragon, and the Gods, walking among us, and her…" he begun to say after he had recovered.

"She is the Ainu, the Holy One. She is the Messiah." Lykouleon said with unquestionable certainty. The others noticed and did not question his authority on the matter.

"But, how?" Rath asked with confusion and uncertainty shinning in his eyes. It was just too much for him to handle. That woman with bright violet eyes and mixed blood was the true savior of the world. This had to be joke…so he looked to Thatz to see if he could find the punch line or at least an explanation, but he looked as shocked as them. Okay, so maybe it wasn't a joke after all.

"He's right you know," they heard a voice from behind them say. They all turned to see Lily standing on a hill not far from them. Rune had been behind her and now moved to join the rest of the group, not wanting to be smushed by what was to come. Lily had warned him, and was glad she had. Her once lively violet eyes were now hardened and cold. Her soft features had chanced to ice. Her pink lips were in a tight frown. She now looked like she had last night, only with few slight differences: she was neither wet nor muddy, and she only had one weapon with her (they figured the arrows always stayed in her hair).

The sky around them had darkened when she had spoken and now the wind seemed to pick up, making her hair fly behind her like bronze fire and serpents. Rune looked at her in awe, so this is what she was talking about. All different races flowing in her veins were now shown all mixed together, all as one. The others looked one as well, with astonishment clearly written on their faces.

"How you ask?" her voice was cold and dark, much like it had been last night, with a hint of mysteriousness. "I'll tell you how. My blood. For 18 generations there has been a Chosen One, the Messiah, the Ainu, the Knight of the Eternal dragon. And in each generation the One has the blood of all the races and they are called upon to wake the land. However, the 18th will destroy and give birth to a New Age. I am the 18th One. I am the true Ainu. I am the true Master of the Eternal One." She saw the uncertainty, the doubt, the fear in their eyes. She smirked.

She pulled out the sword that was on her back and held it high in the air. She leaned her head back and began muttering in an ancient language, her voice loud and clear, and very enchanting. Lightning stuck down on the tip of her sword, but it did not seem to affect her. Then all of the sudden a massive dragon came forth from the green jewel on the sword. Its enormous wings spanned the skies. It was green with eight white horns place upon its head like a crown. Just below the two center horns was a green gem the symbol of infinity upon it. It tossed its head, its long mane falling back like a cascading waterfall. She then settled next to Lily and went it its smaller from, the only difference was it now had one horn upon its forehead. It held up a card that said: Hi, I'm Nyra!

With her energy drained, Lily closed her eyes and dropped her sword as she fell to the ground. The sky immediately cleared and went back to the way it had before, as if nothing had affected it from it daily schedule.

:Mistress! Mistress: was Nyra's reply as she ran over to Lily, nudging her face. Thatz ran over to her fallen form and cradled her head in his lap. The others soon followed. Wordlessly, Lykouleon took out a tiny jar and handed it to Thatz.

Thatz unscrewed the lid and using his index finger, he took some of that stuff and placed it on her lips. It took a moment before her eyes fluttered open; there was a collective sigh of relief. She licked her lips, immediately coughing and sputtering.

"God, Thatz, you know how much I hate that shit. Yuck!" she complained taking the back of her hand and wiping that stuff off, before taking the hand and wiping its contents on Thatz's shirt. She sat up, looking around her, slightly confused. "What the Hell happened?" she asked sitting up.

"You were explaining why you were the Chosen One, and when your dragon came out and you passed out." Rath said walking over to them. "You dropped this," he said bending down and handed Lily's sword back to its rightful owner. "Whoever forged that has my compliments."

Lily smiled and looked at her sword. "I'm sure they already knew that," she said looking at him. He held out his hand, which she gladly accepted, and with the help of him and Thatz, she stood up. The others soon followed.

"Well this has turned out to be quite and interesting day so far," Alfeegi said out of nowhere. They nodded their heads. With a loss as to what to say, they all began to wander away to do whatever they do.

The sun had not moved that much since lunch, saying that it was nowhere near nightfall. Lily looked around and saw that it was just Nyra and herself, but she knew that someone was watch her, but she wasn't sure whom. So she continued to stand there and look around, but soon decided she would rather close her eyes and listen. She heard the faint sound of a fountain and decided to go look for it. She briefly wondered if the person watching her would follow, but decided she didn't care and walked on.

When she got there, she took a moment to stare in wonder at the giant stone structure. There were four dragons sprouting from the center. They each represented one of the four elemental dragons of earth, wind, fire, and water. Deus and Nyra seemed to be missing, however, that did not surprise Lily. Only those old enough remembered the lone dragon. Lily was sure that there was another statue some where of Deus. On top of each dragon's head, was a winged woman, holding her arms up. They seemed to looking up into the eternal sky above. It also looked as though they should have been holding something in their hands, but whatever it had once been, was now gone. (I bet Thatz took it!)

She sat on the edge, and patted her lap. Nyra gladly jumped into her mistress's lap. She moved around in circles, like a cat, before settling in one spot. Using one hand to support herself, Lily used the other to stoke Nyra lovingly.

Not long after that, Fire decided to walk by, but stopped soon as soon as he saw Nyra, and turned his head to the side in a cute manor, regarding the new dragon. He made a cute little noise, which caused Nyra to lift up her head and look at him in the same manor he had looked at her.. Hearts entered Fire's eyes as Nyra blushed cutely. (Do dragons blush? Well now they do!)

Lily looked on and thought that it was rather cute. But to the person watching Lily apparently didn't think the same thing. And so they glared at Nyra as she jumped out of Lily's lap and walked over to talk to his dragon. When he couldn't stand it anymore, Rath finally came out of hiding.

"You shouldn't be talking to her," Rath said grabbing his dragon. Fire struggled to get out of his Masters grip, and succeeded as he bit his hand. Rath dropped Fire and proceeded to look at his injury.

'What in the Hell do you think your doing? They were getting along nicely," Lily said standing up from where she had been sitting.

"I don't want my dragon talking to tours," Rath said rather childishly, moving to get Fire once again, but he flashed his fangs and flew away over to Nyra. "See, look what you've done!"

Lily glared at him. "What I've done? If you hadn't of interrupted them, none of this would have happened. Besides, what in the hell happened to you. You were all nice to me and now you're acting like a spoilt brat." Lily yelled at him.

"I'm not a child. So don't imply that ever again. Besides the moment you came I knew you were going to cause problems and you did." He yelled back at her.

"What have I done to you?"

"You're going to take Rune away from me!" Rath blurted out, but covered his mouth as soon as the words had left his lips.

Lily stared at him for a long time, before she started laughing at him.

Rath glared at her. "Stop laughing." When she didn't, it made him madder. "I said stop laughing!" he growled and gathered red energy in his palm. "STOP. LAUGHING." He yelled the words, finally losing his temper.

"I will once you stop acting so immature," she said, not laughing, but still giggling, tears streaming down the sides of her face. When she saw the red glow, she smirked and formed her own her own ball of energy, except hers was green. 'So you want to play like that, huh?"

They glared at each other for a moment longer. Their dragons looking on helplessly. Then all of the sudden, at the same time, they threw their energy. But instead of hitting the respective targets, their energy met in the middle and fused. All watched in horror as they saw what happened next. The energy split and then went flying back to Lily and Rath, hitting them in the stomach. Lily went flying back towards the fountain, her back slamming into its cold edge, knocking the wind out of her, and soon passed out for a second time that day. Rath went flying back too, but he hit a tree, his back receiving the same treatment.

Both dragons went to go check on their respective masters, before going to find some random person to help them.

Cracking one eyes open weakly, Rath looked around him. That was not what he was expecting when he threw that energy ball. He looked around and could not find his dragon or Lily's. Lily! He looked around, much more aware. He looked and saw her laying by the fountain. He barley managed to get and walk over there but did. He gently picked her up and carried her and himself to the sick ward, know that neither of them would be happy campers in the morning.

A/N: Okay there it is! I hope ya liked it. I know there are quite a few grammatical errors. Please don't point that out in your reviews, I know this already. The end I have here was not the original one I had in mind, I but like this one better, though I personally feel like there is something wrong with it. If you figure it out, please kindly tell me! Thanks everyone for your support! By the way, Lily has reddish-brown hair.


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